Plymouth County DA says homicides down in 2016

Friday

Jan 13, 2017 at 9:10 AM

Cruz says work still needs to be done to combat opioids

Kaila Braley kbraley@wickedlocal.com @MarinerKaila

Fewer homicides were investigated in 2016 than average by the State Police detectives working through Plymouth County District Attorney’s office, but the number of fatal overdoses in the county is disturbing, said District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

"I think there’s been a lot of good work by local and state authorities to remove the criminal element in Brockton," Cruz said. "It’s made a big difference."

State Police investigated five homicides in 2016, compared to 14 homicides in 2015, which Cruz said is a more typical number.

Cruz attributed the drop to good police work "cut[ting] off the head of the snake.

"I think the message is out," he said. "We’ve made it so the bad guys don’t want to come here."

None of the five homicides were gang-related, which is the first time there’s been no gang-related homicides in a year since Cruz has been DA, he said.

The number of firearms discharged has also decreased, by about 23 percent, he said, going from more than 400 instances in 2015 to 310 in 2016. That includes whether the shot hit anyone or anything.

"I think that can also be attributed to the men and women in law enforcement," he said.

Cruz said while he was glad the homicides and gun-related instances had gone down this year, more work needs to be done to prevent opioid overdoses, having seen 130 fatal suspected overdoses in 2016.

That number is down from the 142 suspected fatal overdoses in 2015, but Cruz said it’s not where it should be.

"Obviously 130 deaths are 130 too many. Certainly more work needs to be done on all levels," he said.

According to Pembroke Police Lt. David Clauss, there were 52 overdoses and seven deaths in Pembroke in 2016. This past June, two Pembroke brothers, Michael Woodbury, 37, and younger brother, Jonathan Woodbury, 33, died on the same day of drug overdoses.

"We really hope people get the help that they need," said Lt. Clauss. "This is a statewide problem and it’s all everyone is talking about."

Recently, Pembroke joined forces with other South Shore police departments with Project Outreach, which is designed to help those who have overdosed find a path to sobriety.

Pembroke Police Chief Richard Wall said if the program saves just one person, the whole effort will be worth it.

"It's a public health issue," Wall said. "We can't arrest away the problem. We are here to protect and serve the public. It helps to know that we care."

Project Outreach works with local hospitals to offer assistance. When someone is brought to a hospital for an overdose, they are automatically asked if they would like to receive rehabilitation treatment before leaving. When plain-clothes police officers have made home visits in the original three towns - Plymouth, Middleboro and Carver - 86 percent of those who overdosed agreed to seek treatment.

In Marshfield, there were 35 overdoses in 2016, down from 40 in 2015, though the number of fatalities caused by overdosing in Marshfield is much lower.

Scituate Police Chief Michael Stewart said there has been 19 overdoses in the past year in Scituate, two of which were fatal.

"We are finding most samples contain more Fentanyl than heroin," Stewart said. "Of serious concern is many users don’t even know what they are using."

If someone has built up a tolerance to a certain amount and strength of heroin, but they end up with a batch of Fentanyl, it can have fatal consequences, Stewart said.

"I think with the availability of Narcan to the public, many times the immediate call to 911 is delayed until the victim is administered Narcan by a friend or family member," Stewart said. "Many times we arrive to find the victim has already been administered Narcan but remains unresponsive. Fentanyl, being stronger than heroin, will likely need multiple doses of Narcan to start reversing the effects of the overdose. It remains critical that the 911 call is placed at the first sign of an overdose while the patient is still viable."

Though not all fatal, there have been 40 overdoses this year in Hanover, Fire Deputy Jason Cavallaro said, adding that not all of those are necessarily related to opioids.

Cruz and Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald have formed the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force to help address the epidemic and give communities information on best practices to combat opioids.

In particular, Cruz said they hope to offer more education for people, create more beds in rehabilitation centers and prosecute drug dealers.

"They’re peddling poison and killing people," said Cruz.

The statistics show that far more men died of suspected overdoses this past year than women, by a 104 to 24 margin. Cruz said the average age has also gone down, making the average overdose victim a male in his mid-20s.

"I think families need to talk to kids at a younger age and say that drugs will ruin their lives," he said, adding that the task force is looking into what how young they can start talking to kids in school about the dangers of drugs and have them understand.